----- January 8th, 2014 - Washington D.C -----

A black man can be seen jogging around Washington, D.C. When from behind him Steve Rogers quickly catches up to him and runs past him.

"On your left."

As the man continues to jog, Steve comes around again quickly after doing another lap.

"On your left."

"Uh-huh, on my left. Got it.."

He continues jogging.

A few moments later he hears the sound of footsteps once more. He glances back to see Steve coming around again from behind him for another lap.

"Don't say it! Don't you say it!"

"On your left!," Steve says with a grin.

"Come on!"

He gets angry and tries to catch up to him. Unfortunately, after only a few seconds he's unable to carry on and stops to rest.

A few more minutes go by as the man is resting, catching his breath sitting by a tree. Steve comes around the corner about to lap him again. But he stops and walks over to him.

"Need a medic?"

The man laughs, "I need a new set of lungs.. Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes."

"I guess I got a late start," Steve jokes.

"Oh, really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap," He hesitates for a moment before saying sarcastically, "Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it."

"What unit you with?"

"58, Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA," the man answers, finally breathing somewhat normally.

He lifts a hand to shake, "Sam Wilson."

Steve ends up pulling him up from the ground, "Steve Rogers."

"Yeah, I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you and Superman out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

"It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you, Sam," Steve turns to leave.

"...It's your bed, right?"

Steve stops and turns back, "What's that?"

"Your bed. It's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and use rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like..."

"Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor."

Sam smiles and nods his head as Steve asks, "How long?"

"Two tours," He crosses his arms as he asks, "You must miss the good old days, huh?"

"Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

Sam looks up to think and raises finger, "Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album."

"I'll put it on the list," Steve replies with a smirk.

And true to his word, Steve pulls a small notebook and pen out and notes it down on his list. 

Which also includes: 

'I Love Lucy (Television)' 

'Moon Landing' 

'Berlin Wall (Up + Down)' 

'Steve Jobs (Apple)' 

'Disco' 

'Thai Food' 

'Star Wars/Trek' with 'Wars' crossed out, indicating that he has seen it

'Nirvana (Band)' 

'Rocky (Rocky II?)'

As soon as he finishes jotting it down, Steve gets a text message: "Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)"

"Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run.. If that's what you wanna call running."

They shake hands and Sam says, "Oh, that's how it is?"

"Ooo, that's how it is."

Sam let's out a laugh, "Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."

"I'll keep it in mind," Steve walks backward toward the curb as he says it.

Just then Natasha pulls up in a sick looking car by the curb. She looks over at them and rolls the window down.

"Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

"That's hilarious," Steve walks over to her car and gets in. 

Sam gives Natasha and her car an appreciative look as he crouches down to look in the window, "How you doing?"

"Hey," Natasha simply says.

"Can't run everywhere," Steve tells him.

"No, you can't," He watches as Natasha quickly pulls away and drives off with a smile.

__________

----- January 8th, 2014 - Indian Ocean -----

Flying over the Indian Ocean, Natasha and Steve are with SHIELD agents, led by Brock Rumlow.

"The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago," Brock explains as he displays all this information on a screen.

"Any demands?," Steve asks.

"A billion and a half."

Slightly shocked by the price, Steve also asks, "Why so steep?"

"Because it SHIELD's."

"So it's not off-course, it's trespassing.."

"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha tells him.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor," Steve complains.

"Relax, it's not that complicated."

"How many pirates?"

"Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy," Brock says as he pulls up a photo of a man, "Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

"Hostages?"

"Uh...mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell," He pulls up Sitwell's photo on the monitor, "They're in the galley."

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?," Steve mumbles to himself before announcing, "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move."

"STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up."

Everyone disperses and starts getting ready for drop. Natasha and Steve are off to the side putting in earpieces.

"Secure channel seven," Steve says into his earpiece.

"Seven secure," Natasha tells him before asking, "Did you do anything fun Saturday night?"

"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet except for one are dead, so... No, not really. Speaking of, is Y/N gonna be here?"

"We haven't seen him since New York," Natasha tells him and continues semi-worried but she seems to hide it, "Stark suspects he went up to space after the incident with the Scepter."

Steve thinks for a moment, "Then he pops up in the UK for a bit.. He ever mention what happened before he went AWOL?"

"No, but Fury says there's someone he still talks to about everything. To this day actually. He won't say who though."

"You ever try finding him yourself?," Steve asks her.

She nods, "A couple times actually. But the trail always went cold, like he literally disappears."

They hear a voice over the jet intercoms, "Coming up by the drop zone, Cap."

Natasha then casually changes subjects, "You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'd probably say yes."

"That's why I don't ask," he tells her as he hits a button that opens the cargo bay door.

"Too shy or too scared?"

"Too busy!"

Steve then jumps out of the jet. Some of the strike team were staring at where he jumped from.

"Was he wearing a parachute?," one agent asks.

Rumlow smiles, "No. No, he wasn't."

After jumping out the jet, Steve dives into the ocean in a pencil dive. He then climbs onto the ship from the chain of the anchor. He hops up as a merc passes. Coming up behind him, he quickly chokes him out quietly.

Steve makes his way foward. He comes across more guards. As he chucks his shield at one, he slides under a rope and trips the other. The shield soars back to him as he stands. He continues on his way after bashing into the fallen merc.

He runs into three more mercs on the other side. He kicks one as he turns toward him, sending him flying off deck. Another charges him but gets tricked by a leg sweep.

The other gets shoulder tossed and knocked out with a hard punch. The remaining merc stands. But also gets knocked out, this time with a roundhouse kick.

He resumes running along the edge of the ship, bashing one merc over the side.

He dive rolls over a railing.

Punches a merc as another comes down the stairs. He turns and kicks him into the wall. The other one pulls out a knife. He deflects a couple stabs with his hands, and on the last one slams him into the ground.

The kicked merc goes to pull a fire alarm. Unfortunately for him, Steve grabs the knife and throws it into his hand. He rushes at him, again kicking him this time in the head.

Steve goes up where the merc came down. 

He runs towards a railing. 

After vaulting over it, he drops down in between two mercs as another walks toward them.

He kicks one against a rail. He then hits the other two back and forth with his shield.

Two more appear.

Steve does a cool spin flip as he throws his shield at one. It bounces off him against the wall. As it flies back, Steve grabs the other merc and sends a knee to his head.

He catches his shield as another runs up a set of stairs. He deflects a punch, and spinning backhands him. They both turn toward each other before Steve knocks him out with a Crucifix.

One of the fallen mercs manages to stand, but falls again as Steve puts his shield against his face and punches it.

Steve hears the sound of a gun cocking just behind his back.

"Bouge pas! Bouge pas," A merc demands.

Steve mumbles to himself, "...really wishing Y/N was here."

The merc gets shot dead by Rumlow as he parachutes down onto the deck behind Steve.

Steve notices him and turns, "..Thanks."

"Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me."

Natasha and the other agents parachute down. Steve holsters his shield on his back. Steve starts walking and Natasha follows next to him.

"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice," says Natasha, continuing their earlier conversation.

"Secure the engine room, then find me a date."

"I'm multitasking."

Natasha hops over a railing and down to the lower deck.

__________

"J'aime pas attendre. Appelle Durand. Je veux que l'on s'arrache dès que la ranson arrive."

"Oui, Batroc."

The merc picks up the phone and makes the call.

"Durand. Démarre le moteur."

Off in the engine room, Durand replies, "Okay."

Durand puts the phone down, turns and sees Natasha behind him.

"Hey, sailor."

Natasha kicks his knee in and wraps a grappling hook around his neck.

She pushes him then jumps off a railing, sending him face first against it. 

Sliding down, she manages to shoot several of the merc on the way. As she makes it to the bottom, she shoots then lands on a merc. 

Two more stand below. 

They look as Natasha aims through the holes of the catwalk. Before they realize, she shoots them dead.

She runs foward.

"STRIKE in position," Rumlow says over comms.

She hears Steve ask, "Natasha, what's your status?"

Natasha jumps down to a lower deck. She rushes toward a merc with his back turned.

"Status, Natasha?"

"Hang on!," she shouts.

As the merc turns, she quickly jumps onto his shoulder. She drives her Window's Bite into his neck. It knocks him out and she rolls as they both drop.

Another rounds the corner running, with a friend behind him.

Natasha deflects a punch. She kicks him in the gut, and sweeps his leg. On the way back down, she kicks the gun out of the others hand.

He tries grabbing her from behind. She elbows his head, before grabbing the back of it and doing a Reverse Turned Vertical Suplex.

She kip ups and says over comms, "Engine room secure."

Natasha grabs a pipe from the ground and knocks out one of the mercs as he tries to stand.

__________

"Le temps est écoulé. Qui veut mourrir en premier. Hé toi ! Prend la fille."

Steve speaks over comms, "On my mark. Three. Two. One."

The STRIKE team start shooting at the mercs. They blow open a door and Rumlow quickly kills the head merc.

"I told you, SHIELD doesn't negotiate," Jasper Sitwell says, even though he's still tied up like a little bitch.

__________

One of the Batroc's men tries to get hold of the mercs below deck.

"Halo ? Je pense que la ligne est morte. J'ai perdu le contact."

Just then Steve smashes in through the window using his shield but Batroc manages to escape.

Steve quickly follows in pursuit.

"Hostages en route to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play," Steve hears from Rumlow.

"Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages," there's no reply from Natasha, "Natasha!"

All of a sudden, Batroc kicks into Steve. Steve blocks with his shield twice. He falls to the ground as Batroc cartwheel kicks in between his legs.

They both quickly hop up. Batroc kicks, then goes to spin kick. Steve rolls under it. Batroc sends a few punches into the shield keeps blocking and deflecting.

Eventually he finds the opportunity to bash Batroc across the floor.

Batroc kicks up. When he goes to punch, Steve grabs it. Steve lands a few knees to his gut. 

Steve goes to flip him over, but Batroc flips and does fucking cartwheels away from him like a fucking cheerleader.

He looks like an idiot.

"Je croyais que tu étais plus qu'un bouclier."

Steve puts his shield on his back and takes off his mask. Batroc smirks.

"On va voir," Steve replies, having learned from Y/N.

They start fighting again.

A few punches. A few kicks. Quite a few deflections 

But this time, Steve quickly turns the tide in his favor. He kicks him in the right leg, the stomach, and then performs a downwards somersault kick to the face, knocking him down.

Batroc stands up with visible struggle, breathing heavy. Steve smashes him through the door of a room and knocks him out with a strong punch to the face.

"Well, this is awkward."

Steve turns to see Natasha at a computer, "..What are you doing?"

"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into."

"Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?," he asks as he gets closer to her. Steve looks at what Natasha is backing up, "You're saving SHIELD Intel."

"Whatever I can get my hands on-"

"Our mission is to rescue hostages."

"No. That's your mission," She finishes backing up and pulls the flash drive out, "And you've done it beautifully."

As Natasha goes to leave Steve grabs her arm, "You just jeopardized this whole operation."

"I think that's overstating things," she argues.

Suddenly Batroc awakens and throws a grenade at the two as he runs off.

Steve deflects the bomb with his shield, grabs Natasha and jumps through a window before it explodes.

"Okay. That one's on me," Natasha admits.

"You're damn right."

____________________